I’d love to print more. would have to come up with a way to store and display them first. I think it’s pointless printing if you can’t see them on a wall somewhere. If it’s going to gather dust rolled up somewhere I’d rather be saving the environment and not printing.
I did But I am sick of buying Paper and Ink I have the Canon 100 Pro still sitting on my shelf, ...Now I just send it out and i always wait for the sale prices, I can have them done cheaper that I can do it myself ... I just ordered 4 -30x40 an hour ago........... got to Love the GFX 100
Mark - While I agree printing your work is very important, I go by the adage of "Time, Stress, and Money". I've owned several pro level printers and quickly realized (for me) that it was not an economical endeavor. The initial outlay for the cost of the printer, then the insane cost of ink, plus the cost of paper in different sizes or types/weights..... Only to send 10-20 prints through it (wasting ink and paper) to "dial it in" made no sense for me. It was a lot of time, stress, and money to spend doing something that I could easily outsource to a company that has the equipment, paper, and knowledge to get it right the first time, or if it comes out wrong, they reprint at no cost. The printer I currently use sent me their profile so I can soft proof it in Lightroom and it's been pretty much spot on every time. I'm in love with the idea of printing my own work, but not with the reality.
As with everything in photography, how it works for you is all that really matters. That being said, having printed my own image for 45 years, I know that printing is a lot like examining your life. And we know what they say about that!
Your point is valid, but he was not even arguing it. He simply pointed out mistakes he ran into and shared his experiences in case you do want to embark on endeavor of making your own prints. Personally I would too outsource printing to a company due to the financial and time reasons, but I learned a lot watching this video and i was very grateful Mark shared it with us. Actually, this video even further convinced me that I should not do my own prints.
I have the same printer. Shoot with Nikon D850. Beautiful results although I use a plugin, Canon Print Studio Pro for the printing setup. Yes, it is expensive but so are boat slips, BMWs and and and.... you get it.
I like to get you a little tip that I use. I always make a 4x5 or 5x7 test print before I make the bigger print, and put it in a photo book. On the back of the test print I write in the paper I used, and settings if I had to make minor ajustments to the on screen image, so If I ever need to go back to make additional prints I would know what setting I used.
@@tamiboelter2833 If you use the soft proofing option Mark showed, as soon as you make an adjustment you'll be prompted to make a virtual copy. So yes, the adjustments are saved in a virtual copy and the name includes the profile use.
Very good tutorial, Mark! I don’t have room for a printer, but I am thinking I can do soft proofing by finding out the printer and papers available at my local print lab.
You missed one very handy tool. You can softproof with 2 images next to each other in lightroom one on the left is the edited photo and on the right is the edited photo with the paperprofile. So you can fine tune the photo for printing that it almost exact looks the same as the edited photo on screen. I hope you understand what i am saying my english is not top notch 😂
Hi Mark, Mark here we even have the same printer ! Subscribed don't know how I haven't found you sooner ! Boy it's a nightmare printing, been doing it for years now always a surprise if a print comes out as expected ! All calibrated here Spyder pro 5, Fotospeed profiles in, but as soon as you press print its a heart in the mouth job . The number of maintenance cartridges and Ink the pro 1000 users ! A print always brings me back down to earth in photography terms ! 👍😍
Mark have you looked at Printfab and Qimage apps on Mac which give complete control of printing without using printer adjustments. I have used Printfab now for all my photo printing and saves so much time. Get the screen calibrated,get the photo right then let Printfab do the printing
Mark, awesome video. You hit the high points and I learned a lot. I too have a Canon Pro 1000, and have just begun to print my images. I did it your way...just jumped in. Now I will be more deliberate, using your five lessons learned as a guide. Perfect!! Gerry
I wouldn't mind seeing a video on mounting options once you have a print made. It could get very expensive having all my prints framed professionally. Do you do any of your own framing? Are there cheaper options such as foam board mounting, etc?
Great video. Even though I send out my photos to a local printer, I should find out what papers he uses and soft proof the shots before sending them to him.
Thanks for this video on printing; I’ve been looking for a video in this subject for a while. I think that is also useful advice for people who outsource their printing. I think if we can give a lab the best file possible, it’s going to produce the best results.
Printing your image is a totally different satisfaction than juat viewing on your computer...even sometimes you got it wrong and the image looks dull n muted, it just looks better in physical form as if you bring it to life.....
Hey mark, I want to start selling my photography prints but I don't have a printer. Is there anyway I can get by this without purchasing my own printer?
I also have your printer and the pro10 before that. I have always found the print modules from Canon very intuitive and use them in photoshop rather than LR or the print module from PS. They all work, curious if you had any opinion on the Canon print modules?
I wish you had gone a little deeper into the subject and perhaps added some resources. As much as monitor calibration is fine. In my experience, it really did not have anything to do with the printer. What I have found is the more print cartridges you have, the better the color rendering. On my Canon Pro 2000, I found that it is better for the printer to control the output than the software like Photoshop. Paper is important. Some paper has warmer tones than others, the type of paper will determine sharpness and color saturation but that also varies by printer and ink. The biggest mistake beginners make if over saturating and often beyond the printer's color gamut. Each printer has a different color gamut due to its accuracy. The monitor has its own color gamut. If you over saturate, it will never look as you see it on screen. Yes, if your monitor is too bright, likely the printer will be unable to match. Ambient light is important when viewing the image on screen. Too little or too much will affect output. The print also will look different when it it is placed on a wall. That wall is likely receiving different light than as it rolls out on the printer, or on the viewing table. Finally bigger out put is better, so much better. On your Canon the largest height is 17 inches on mine it is 24 but even that is not enough, A very large bold and colorful print can change the ambiance of an entire room. It is amazing the see this or rather feel this. Last the roll is better than single sheet. I am limited by 24 inches is height but really no limitation in width. I found the detail is far better on a hi-resolution out put device than on the monitor. When the print comes out, it is often a wonderful surprise. The next thing is to mat and frame. There are important consideration here as well. And lastly, the glass you use will have a profound impact. Museum quality glass is a game changer. One side is smooth the other side is scuffed. The treatment makes the image clearer and sharper, and magnifies details, it also increases the viewing angle and saturation. Printing is not an option but a requirement, Printing reveals imperfections more so than the screen. When a photograph an image, I visualize the image through post process all the way to print. In my mind as I press the shutter, I am also thinking what paper I am going to use. When I describe previsualization it always includes post processing and print. Thanks!!!
I have always felt the printing (darkroom or digital) is part of the photographic artistic process. Matching the paper, saturation and tones to a particular image to get the look and feel you want to convey. I find it more rewarding when I do the whole camera to wall myself.
Great info, Mark! I'm sure I could Google this, but is there a way to create a preset for each paper profile to quickly shift from screen edit to soft proof? I guess that would require relative presets.
I'm a heavily budgeted photo amateur. Can't even think about getting a quality photo printer. I thought this video was going to be a waste of time but learning about screen calibration and realizing that I should look more thoroughly into the places I send images for enlargements is important. Thanks Mark.
Don't know if you're looking for recommendations, but I too am an amateur with significant budget constraint. Last year, I got the Canon Pixma-100 Pro on sale and it is amazingly good and very affordable. I know they have newer versions now, so there might even be a better option out there. It is certainly more affordable than outsourcing your printing jobs, and I think much more fun :-)
Quick question for you - when you sell prints to customers do you recommend as much light as they can get on the photo as possible? My images are moodier and darker and they can look ok under standard house lights but truly shine with lots of light. Been searching for a solution to offer them to best enjoy my images.
Mark, you would be better off if you turn the printer’s color management off and let Lightroom control the printing. In the LR settings you had manage by printer selected. Also, the selection of perceptual vs. relative can make a difference managing out of gamut colors.
I agree. I'm taking a photography class as an elective in KY final semester of school. She's taught us to let Adobe manage the colors. She is also training us to print out of photoshop rather than lightroom. Do you have an opinion on that David?
@@johncalhoun8695 Unfortunately, I am not a Photoshop user. Most photography educators I have followed on RU-vid use Lightroom for printing. Try to learn if she has a bias for Photoshop over Lightroom.
I am still developing photography skills with your tutors :). But I don't think I'll ever print a photo. PS: Please bring the wall clock from the old senario to the new one. Thanks :)
@@johncalhoun8695 Exactly...don't let your hard work creating works of art be lost in the ether of your hard drive or social media. PRINT and you will know the true joy of photography.
Here is another point. Could you take an image with the high pixel Fuji and then take the same image with your regular camera and show them blown up on the computer to actually show how much more detail the Fuji shows.
Great video as I'm learning this myself. My question is would you do a similar work flow if you have a 3rd party like mpix or others printing your prints? How would you go about it. I know, knowing their printers ppi is important to resize accordingly. Would it be wise to ask what kind of printers they use and do similar profiles?
I love printing my images on my Epson 3880 and, like you, have made all of the mistakes you describe. Nevertheless, I learned a few new things from your video and am keen to implement them next print session. Firstly the print editing. I have used it a few times but not consistently. I must try to persevere with this function, as you describe. And then there is the Lightroom colour management print profile. I always select the actual paper ICC profile. I never even previously noted the “Managed by Printer” option. Must give it a try (on a small sheet of paper :). I always set “no colour adjustment” in the printer settings to ensure colour is controlled by LR or PS not the printer so perhaps there is some confusion between these two LR functions.
It was reassuring to know that prints were coming out dark for others before they too had an ha-ha moment. I do 4x6 to check my edited brightness and then use those to make gift cards. -Elaine J.
Last thing I printed was on high gloss aluminum. I definitely learned a lot from it. There are a couple things you spoke on that will help. One is sharpening for print instead of screen and adding a step or two of exposure.
I have a Canon Pro-100, First print was very dark. I had read about monitor calibration and since I didn't have one, I took a photo I printed and put it next to the monitor and took me almost 2hrs but I adjusted the monitor color to that photo and after editing the photos in Lightroom with the new monitor settings the photos come out great and havent had to adjust much on my prints! But definitely printing helps you see things in your photos that you would normally not pay attention to in a screen, therefore makes you improve your photography. Great video Mark, very detailed and informative!!.
This is something I've never considered before, it's opened my eyes to a whole new world of confusion. First step, understand post processing, then I'll get on to printing! Thanks as always Mark, your videos are excellent on so many levels (did you ever explain about the stopped clock, I forget where someone asked that recently)
Very useful topic...Thanks Mark...can you say something about what color profile to use, sRGB or Adobe?...I read somewhere that Adobe is to be used for Printing whereas sRGB is for Monitors.
Dear Mark, Why don't you simply calibrate your printer? In that way you wouldn't have to tweak your photos before printing them. It seems like the X-Rite i1Studio package would help you calibrate ALL involved gadgets. Your camera, display, printer and scanner (if you ever scan something). It even seems to be able to calibrate your phone, pad and projector. I have just ordered one, so I don't have any experience, yet... but it sound quite logical. If all gadgets are properly calibrated... All colors will be absolutely correct EVERYWHERE :D (Y) In the printer case a different calibration map for each different paper type you use would be probably be most preferable. :D Just a friendly thought. Thank you for all your videos. I have learned a lot from them :)
AS you experience things, it makes you wonder 12MP vs 102MP ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uD4izuDMUQA.html And they get most wrong? I raises a question for me, What do we really need? Are we blind to " Manufactures specs"? Are we lured by there math? Do we really se anything different? Btw, I read about an Big award winner, he used a 10 year old Nikon. Why? Because he can. Used Manual Focus of course, and some great skills in editing. Are we there all ready?
I am not sure if you can ever truly match color from screen (RGB) to paper (CMYK). Also could you recommend a printer (13x9) with decent quality that won't break the bank? I don't mind buying used. I spent many years in the commercial printing industry so I at least have a good grip on the CYMK color space for starters. Thanks Mark.
ALl OEM display systems are calibrated, right out of the box, for games. Which means intense, cool color and enhanced brightness. Totally wrong for post processing.
I'm rockin a new mac M1, and currently no calibration software is available for the new silicon. BIG MISTAKE! sad When was the last time you got caught out being an early adopter?
I've been using a Canon Pro 100 simply because I couldn't afford a Pro 1000 when I was shopping for a printer. However, the 100 makes prints as good as I can get from Whitewall or other custom labs. The exception is it doesn't do well with mat papers except Hahnemuhle's William Turner. It does a good job with that paper. I'll upgrade to a Pro 1000 when I have the money for it.
Hi Mark: This was an enjoyable video. I really enjoy the craft of printing my images and I would highly recommend this to anyone who really wants to be a 'true' photography. Cheers, Keith
You have a Canon printer, so I am surprised you are not using Canon's Print Studio Pro-- a free plugin for LR and PS. It has tools for calibrating all the variables. You print out a single test image with a range of slight differences including color, saturation, brightness. Then you find the version of the print that closely matches your monitor. In my case, all I had to do was up the brightness +10 and I got (and still get) exactly what I wanted. Furthermore, it automatically accounts for the different kinds of Canon paper, plus gives you an easy way to set borders etc. One more tip: buy your ink directly from Canon. You almost alway get a free pack of paper if you meet the minimum order. I have so much 13x19 paper I don't think I'll ever run out.
I really like your videos, they are very informative and have given me extra detail on many subjects that has helped improve my photography. I am a huge fan of the Fujifilm mirrorless cameras and lenses ever sense renting a XPro3 and several lenses for some work last year. So much so, I actually, just dumped all m Canon full frame equipment for a Fujifilm XT4 and am building out my lens selection now. I getting use to how my work flow is with it and adjusting to editing the APS-C image it produces. I am loving it so far as it just a very tactile camera and the images so far have been great. I know that 100 megapixel images from the GFX 100S are amazing, I have looked at some photos from it and it does have lots of detail and the colors are amazing. I have a question for you on how well the Fujifilm XT4 and XT3 do with larger prints.I don't usually print much larger than 16x24 but occasionally I do go larger in prints up to 30x40 and wonder if you can print that large? I am a landscape photographer and you know some times a larger print has so much impact. What are you thoughts?
Hi Mark Good video.. I would like to add if you don't mind.. I use the same printer and use Canon's own printing software "Professional Print & Layout". Also one thing I do is even though I did it in post processing. I zoom the photo just before it becomes pixelated. I do a final check for dust spots. pixel spots and chromatic abbreviation. Especially if shot is taken with a very bright background. Just to ensure final prints is good. You talked a about printer profiles. The easiest way I was described is as follow. Every paper absorbs ink in a different ratio. Even if they are all say Gloss or Semi Gloss. The printer profile will inform the printer who much ink to use for the print. Also using the canon printer software will tell you how much ink was used and the cost of the print. I also agree on trying different papers.. Also with Hahnemuehle they have a Certificate of Authenticity & Hologram System www.hahnemuehle.com/en/digital-fineart/my-art-registry/certificate-of-authenticity.html (Hope you don't mind...)
This video was very helpful. I don’t print as often as I’d like to, and would like to be able to get my photos printed out for friends and family. I don’t print my own pictures, I send them off to the lab. I would love if you could make a video about how to send photos from Lightroom to a lab to get printed - I want to improve, and be able to give better gifts to loved ones. Thanks for your help!
I don't think you can a much better printer in that size class. You need to pick the paper profile ( ICC )for the printer/paper combination. I'm pretty sure you know but someone thinking of getting started in printing might not. I researched for about a year watching a you tube vids on it . Purchased a Canon Pro 100, X-rite i1 Display Pro, Color Checker Passport & some Canon Pro Luster paper. Couldn't ask for better results rite out of the gate. Started playing with a couple of sample packs from CansonInffinity Papeer & now the same with Red River . A lot of fun & your rite, you see things in the print you didn't see on screen. Great vid.
Been there, done that. Oh, the frustration. Now I buy the exact same paper in 5x7 for initial test prints. I stopped "tweaking" in the printer software, instead I go back to the LR proof version. I marked all my proofs purple (p for print), green is for done editing. And I add all ready for print photos in a Print LR collection so I don't have to go looking for them. Can recommend checking out Red River papers too.
I print about 12 images a year at 30 x 40 or 40 x 60. My home isn’t large enough for more than 10 - 15 hanging on the walls. At this quantity, I can’t justify the cost of the printer and consumables. Fortunately I have a local printing company with several large scale machines, so I get to choose from several different papers. The most important tips for me is to calibrate my monitor and use the correct paper profiles.
Good video. As a amateur photographer, who occasionally sells prints, I can't really afford or justify one of those big printers, I would like to get a smaller printer, something around 12x8" to test my work and make prints for myself. Not having a better idea of what you're getting when paying the high cost of large prints can be really problematic.
Calibrating your monitor is important. Also any time your change the lighting in the room or even repaint the room with a different color you will need to recal. I gave up printing my own years ago because I just don't print that often anymore and have been farming my work out to a pro lab for several years. The pro lab gave me their ICC Profile and have been extremely pleased with their work. When I put my image into their ROES for uploading it shows me how the print will look. Rather than increasing the exposure I opted to change the Blending Mode to SCREEN and typically adjust it to 20% and vibrance to 10%. By increasing the exposure I find that sometimes my highlights may clip. Everyone has their own methods and I am sure you are satisfied with yours.
Thanks Mark. As always a great video. Very helpful for using my printer. I was wondering what you may change up in the process if your sending it out for a larger print. How does one go about that and how do you find a good company to do the printing for you? Not just prints but maybe printing up a book or calendar. I see another video coming up on this issue. 👍🏻😃. Thanks for all your informative videos. I learn so much from you.
Do you feel your images need lots of work in order to print? I havent even color calibrated myself. But its a very color true screen. And I work in the dark lol. I have the same printer. Use Ilford Smooth Pearl. The only thing I do is add an adjustment layer with 5-10% more brightness and then some extra sharpening up to 5%. And I am always happy with the results.
Loved the video about printing your images. The information was helpful. Please do more videos about printing. Do you do your own frame work for your prints also?
Thanks for the video Mark, it was really useful. It definitely feels like a black art at times that's for sure. Like many have said, I doubt I'd print that many prints to make it worthwhile - however, the thought of printing out that image and seeing the end product immediately is appealing...
Does your printer have a way to unclog the nozzles? I bought an Epson (rather expensive $400 for my budget) and after not using for a couple of months, I could not unclog the nozzles which resulted in throwing the printer away because no one could fix it.
I'm actually on my second year of photography. And just purchased my first printer. I bought the Canon Pixma pro-100. I did purchase it off Facebook Marketplace. I got a good deal on it with the inks and paper and printer I'm just in under $500. With that said I have 4 x 6, 8.5 by 11, and 13x18 paper.. I did basically the same thing you did put in my biggest piece of paper went to my favorite picture and hit print! And to my disappointment I got the same results you did. Also having a used printer didn't help. Because I had to clean the printer head.. the picture wasn't nice and crispy like I was hoping for and the color was very Bland. So basically I got a picture that was unsharp, on contrasty, and full of lines
Have you seen the Qimage (windows) Qimage 1 (Mac) which can be used as Adobe plugin or stand alone? It will also print 16 bit colour depth even though the o/s will only print 8 bit. The programs are written by two different people who live opposite each other (Qimage came first). The best feature is that all the print settings are saved so a reprint some time later is exactly the same.
Hello Mark, I wonder can you advise me. I process in Lightroom CC ensuring that I go easy on contrast; sharpening and clarity. Then I would forward my image to a professional printing company, but when they come back to me the prints are a little soft, which is more noticeable obviously when they are printed large. I must confess that I did not use the Masking Slider. Would this have the problem or something else? In the past I had over sharpened or created haloing. Having told you this what can I do to ensure that I now receive sharp prints with no artifacts ???
I can't imagine spending $1000 on a printer without knowing about need to calibrate your monitor or how to use ICC profiles. You might try the Canon printing software that came with your printer. I've found it to be superior to the Lightroom Print module.
90% of my prints are larger than 30×45 inches and are aluminum or Acrylic so printing at home is not an option for me. I do small test printing of every image in a 10x15 size to make sure I'm happy with the image but I even have those printed at my local lab. My day job has been in photo finishing for 30 years and I'd still rather have a pro lab print my work.
I wish Lightroom brings in AI that reads your edited image then by just simply choosing your printer and paper types it intelligently adjusts the output image to look more like the way you edited in the first place, and simply print. Did I make any sense? :)
I am down to one sheet of paper per image print. Trick is in matching screen brightness to printer ( not auto brightness control - control your room brightness!) and of course profiling printer, paper and screen. Printing is almost anticlimactic now, but it sure save ink and paper!
This video is very timely as I just started calibrating my monitor for this very purpose. I keep reading that the lighting in the room is very important, but I noticed you have purple lights. Do you turn those off while editing?
@@russellhagy I have had the same problem until I had discovered in Lightroom in print mode => Printjob => Print Adjustment => There I had to pull up my Brightness all the way up to 100 % and Contrast (my personal individual preference) 10 %. I had your original problem too, first print attempts too dark and everything else as Mark has described about the learning curve of trial and error...
If you are going to print say 8 1/5 x11 and the image size is larger do you have to reduce the size of the image first? I often get the message that the image is too large and there will be some area lost. But I have resized the image to say 8 x 10 and still with paper size 8 1/2 by 11 I get that message. But when it shows the preview there is plenty of white border. This remains a mystery to me.
The biggies issue Ive had is I print from a store. However, the issue is my photos tend to look a lot more zoomed in and blurred when I do some prints. Some arent and look great. Ive sold many photos, even some out of state to ppl in Florida. Sometimes the images are just zoomed in and blurry compared to the actual photo I send in.
Having my own printer is not economically viable, what would be the steps to follow to ensure top printing results from a serious print shop, style "Whitewall" not to name any?
